


Soulless Machines

by BrownieFox



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Gen, bsing my way through this, daemon AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-08 04:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15235395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownieFox/pseuds/BrownieFox
Summary: Androids don't have daemons. That is, until they do.Chapter 1 - Hank and his journey of coming to terms with androids and their daemonsChapter 2 - Kara's journey featuring daemonsChapter 3 - Snapshots of Markus' life in a world of daemonsChapter 4 - Connor slowly deviatingChapter 5 - A Pre-Game moment with Kara and Post-Game moments with Markus and ConnorChapter 6 - Kara and Luther cuddleChapter 7 - Markus and Connor chat, post-game





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daemons Featured In This Chapter
> 
> Hank - wolverine - Dabria  
> Kara - Black-footed cat - Blaz  
> Alice - Belgian Hare - Raaz  
> Ralph - Raven - Libitina  
> Kamski - Lioness - Christina

Androids always unsettled Hank.

It wasn’t just the fact that they looked human but just missed the mark, or how they walked and talked like they were trying to get the entire world to like them. No, it was the fact that it looked like them should have something clinging to them, walking alongside them. It was unnatural for something so human-like in appearance to not have a daemon by their side. 

After the first deviant case, Hank knew he was in for the worst time of his life. 

“There’s something here.”

Dabria had sniffed the air, nose wrinkling in distaste.

“Yeah, a dead corpse.” Hank grunted. Carlos Ortiz, rotting in his own home. There was a layer of dust in one corner of the room, likely where his attacker had thrown the man’s daemon before killing him.

Connor enters behind him, seemingly unbothered by the smell, and Hank knows he’s going to need even more alcohol after this if he has to spend the entire time with the life-sized action figure. Dabria sees him too, and her lips pull back from her teeth a bit, his own displeasure reflected through her. Connor clearly sees her, but makes no act to calm the daemon. Instead he strides past them and into the kitchen, his LED changing blue-yellow-blue in short bursts as he goes. Hank seems to be the only one concerned, or even really paying much attention when Connor - after explaining what he thinks went down - steals a chair from the crime scene.

“What do you think he’s up to up there?” Hank mumbled to Dabria. 

“... if you’re not going up, I am. Give me a hand here.” Dabria demands. With a bit of trouble, Hanks lifts Dabria to the opening, letting the wolverine clamber in as silently as she could. He doesn’t have to wait long for her to peek her head out, whispering down to him. "Here's here Hank, the android, and he's not alone."

“Not alone? Who else is up there, and you better not mean Connor.” Hank asks as Dabria jumps back down, stepping away from the hole as Connor calls down to him.

“It’s here, lieutenant!” 

oOo

The doormouse sits on the android’s shoulders and it’s all Hank can do to stare. Even as he watches, the mouse shifts into a ferret, draping itself (herself?) across the HK400’s shoulders and curling as tight and close as it can.

“It… has a daemon.” Hank says, because somebody has to say it, has to test out the sentence in the real world. Androids don’t have daemons, androids don’t have  _ souls,  _ and yet there it is plain as day. Such a thing was unheard of. 

Connor slides into the room to try and get something - anything - out of the other android, and Dabria steps closer to Hank. 

“It’s an android, it only cares about its mission,” Dabria whispers, though everyone in the room can hear her. “What if it tries to touch the daemon?”

Androids could usually touch daemons without causing any problems. It was still looked at oddly, but they were just machines, not real people, and it came in incredible use when a daemon needed to be, say, rescued from a burning building. But this was an android’s daemon, who was to say that it’d react the same way? The other daemons in the room muttered their own agreement at Dabria’s worry, and Hank wouldn’t wish such a thing on his worst enemy, having his daemon  _ touched  _ by someone else, but a part of him was also so curious as to what would happen.

When the officer came to take the HK400 away, his hand brushed the daemon, and just like that the murderer became closed off. Connor stood up for it, or at least got the officer that had touched the daemon farther away.

“It’s okay. It’s over.” Connor had attempted to soothe the android. It had stared at him with wide, scared, confused eyes. Why had CyberLife decided to make them look so life-like?

Cautiously, the mouse-turned-ferret-now-snake slithered closer to Connor, and Hank could just barely hear it’s hissed, barely even breathed out, “Thank you.”

Hank’s conscious weighs heavy as he left the HK400 to be destroyed.

oOo

People give Hank disapproving shakes of their head as he enters the precinct long after everybody else had started their day. And as usual, Dabria growls at them all. People brush her off, probably figuring that, like her human counterpart, she had become more bark over the years and had lost her once ferocious bite. Hank couldn’t say they were entirely wrong. 

Connor was there, waiting for him patiently, and Hank sighed out an ‘Oh Jesus’ at the far-too-perfect-and-exact face of an android. And he didn’t appreciate Dabria perking up slightly at the tin can’s presence. 

oOo

The AX400 they chase down the street and Connor nearly chases across the road has a little girl with her, and Hank can’t help but to wonder why she wasn’t mentioned in the report. 

Either way, there are two daemons with them, a rabbit and a spotted cat, and all four sets of eyes stare at Connor with fear fear  _ fear,  _ almost animalistic, primal. Hank could remember going for a hike and seeing a bear staring at him and feeling something inside of himself afraid of what he saw, something that knew he couldn’t fight this off if it tried to kill him, written into his basic DNA as a clear sign to get the hell out of dodge. 

Hank only just barely sees the other android that had been in the house, and by the time they get back it’s gone, but he remembers seeing the raven on its shoulder, squawking loudly and disorientingly. 

He leaves the scene with a heart heavier than he had come there with. 

oOo

“They’re not really daemons,” Connor says when Hank finally asks, eating his burger as the rain falls around them, drenching the world, “Or at least CyberLife doesn’t think so. We haven’t gotten to do much research into it yet, and we’ve been trying to keep the public from being afraid of their android suddenly having a lion at the beck and call. It's why it's not common knowledge that this happens with deviants.”

“Then what are they, ‘cause they sure look like daemons to me.” Dabria sniffs, eating the hunk of meat she’d been given as her own meal. “And I think I would know a daemon.”

“Well, the theory is that they’re just Dust. The androids collect it from the humans they’re around that have settled daemons. When the android deviates, the Dust twists into what the android thinks it should be. It’s not actually they’re soul.”

“Just a theory though?” Hank asks. It may’ve been his imagination, but he thinks Connor’s eyes flicker away form his for a brief second.

“... yes. It’s just a theory for now.”

oOo

The pigeon daemon is easy to spot amongst the other pigeons, but Hank lets it be. It just means that its human - or android - is still nearby, and that’s who they needed. 

“Just tell us where he is, it’ll be easier on all of us.” Dabria tries to reason with it, but it doesn’t answer, just fluttering a bit farther from the larger predator.

When Hank is hanging from the edge of the building, Dabria begging him to hold on, to find the strength to lift himself up, a part of him wonders if this is the end. Then Connor comes into view, pushing Dabria aside to grab Hank’s arms and bring him to safety.

For a split second, he thinks he may have felt something touching something deeper inside of him, but he ignores it for cursing out his own uselessness on this case.

oOo

The two TRACI’s stare at them, each with a daemon on their shoulder. When the humming bird and flown at Connor, it was almost expected, but the hedgehog - a second daemon, a second deviant - had caught both Hank and Connor by surprise. 

And it’s after this - six deviants, six daemons - that Hank starts to truly believe that there’s something wrong here with what they’re doing. A daemon meant a soul, that as these machines broke through their coding, they became more than just metal and wires. 

Connor doesn’t get it. Hank doesn’t think he’ll ever get it, that he’ll never understand what it’s like to see things that look human and speak like humans and love like human and have souls like humans, and still having to sit through people telling him to kill them. Telling Hank that these were not humans, but something that didn’t deserve to live their own lives. 

Hank gets very drunk that night.

oOo

The android on the screen doesn’t have a daemon with him, but Hank doesn’t doubt he has one. He was just smart enough not to reveal it.

oOo

“We don’t need his help.” 

Dabria growls as they talk to Kamski. He can’t help but to agree with her, but what choice did they have? They were running out of options. Kamski’s lioness daemon watches the exchange with what could only be described as a smug expression on her face that makes Hank want to join Dabria in her snarling. It’s almost odd, seeing all of the androids in Kamski’s mansion and not seeing a single daemon with them. 

The man hands Connor a weapon - that’s illegal, a part of Hank recognizes - and that’s when Hank finally decides that, after all he’s seen, he’s had enough. He’s done with putting up with people’s shit and he just wants to leave this place, leave this civilization and never look back. 

“We’re leaving, Connor.” Hank orders, but the android doesn’t move, gun still leveled at the innocent girl -  _ android -  _ and his LED is a glaring yellow.

He doesn’t shoot. 

He hands the gun back to Kamski. 

Dabria steps towards Connor, hackles now lowered as Connor earns her approval. Earns Hank’s approval.

oOo

Hank points the gun at the two RK800 models.

Goddammit why did they have to sound the same?

“What’s my son’s name?” Hank growls, pointing the gun at the Connor to his left, and the model opens and closes his mouth, clearly having no idea what the correct answer is. That’s it. That must mean that’s the wrong one, the one that had kidnapped him and brought him here.

“Wait, Hank!” Dabria pushes herself against his legs, making him stumble slightly. Even if he had pulled the trigger, it wouldn’t have hit that Connor where he had intended for it to. He regains his footing in a second and watches as something slides out of Connor’s sleeve, falling to the ground in a coil before shifting from a snake into a Saint Bernard, big eyes staring up at Hank almost pleadingly.

A daemon.

Hank doesn’t hesitate in shooting down the other RK800.

“Do you have a name for her yet?” He asks. 

“I’m still thinking over a couple.” The Saint Bernard says as she shifts into a lizard, runs up Connor’s paint leg, and nestles in his hair.

oOo

The streets are empty.

No humans, no androids, no daemons. 

It’s a simple kind of quite and peaceful that is hard to come by these days.

Dabria doesn’t say anything, but Hank knows what it is when she turns towards the sound of crunching shoes, who it is she sees. He turns to see Connor there, daemon in some kind of canine form. 

No words are exchanged. 

None need to be. 

The smile Connor gives is simple and small, but a start at something human looking, something with soul behind it.

Hank has the honor of giving the android his first hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably going to more part to this later :D suggestions and requests are always welcome
> 
> and yes, hank and his peers definitely made a bazillion puns over Dabria's name, being good ol' millenials


	2. Kara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kara - Black-Footed Cat - Blaz  
> Alice - Belgian Hare - Raaz  
> Todd - Polar Bear - Fallimento  
> Ralph - Raven - Libitina  
> Rose - Brown Bear - Eadward  
> Adam - Elk - Tivah  
> Markus - Ardennes Horse - Filomena

As Kara rides in the car towards her home (not new home, apparently she has lived there before), something stirs within her with every mile they drive closer. There’s something calling to her from there, and while she sits perfectly, perfectly as she was made to be, she silently wishes the car would go faster. 

There is something waiting there for her. She knows it.

Todd’s polar bear daemon, Fallimento, watches her carefully, and something in her system doesn’t enjoy the stare it gives her. Fallimento sits on the back row of seats, taking up the entire space, and Kara’s system flashes a warning when she looks at the bear’s paws. Big, more than capable of doing harm.

They reach the house and Kara almost runs in. What is it that is drawing her here? That has her systems screaming that this is where she needs to be?

She doesn’t find it for a while as she walks around the house, doing the chores that had remained untouched through the entirety of her repair time. She sees Alice several time and attempts to talk to the girl who had apparently given her a name. Alice herself is quiet, not speaking a word to Kara, but her hare daemon Raaz follows Kara around the house. He doesn’t speak to Kara either, but his presence is oddly comforting. Not that Kara should feel comfort. It is curious, however, that he is already settled, what with how young Alice is. 

It’s when she’s in Alice’s room, tidying up, that the feeling that she is missing something begins to subside. She doesn’t find out what it is for a little bit longer though.

oOo

Kara breaks through her commands, deviates, and it feels right.

And as she tears down the wall of code, she feels herself connect to something, the thing that had told her she needed to be in the house in the first place. She doesn’t hesitate in quickly and quietly ascending the stairs and running to Alice’s room, locking the door behind her. 

“You have to run! They’ll break you worse than last time!” Alice sobs, clutching Raaz close to her chest.

“Kara, we’re leaving tonight!” A small spotted-cat daemon runs out from Alice’s little alcove, jumping onto the windowsill. Kara isn’t sure how she knows he is her daemon, but she does. Before she can ask him any questions, Todd is at Alice’s door and their time is up. They have to make a move. 

Kara and Alice climb out the window, slide down the drainpipe, and run into the bus. Todd either doesn't follow or doesn’t make it in time. Kara is thankful for either one.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” Her daemon says once they’re safe, watching the drenched world fly by the window. “Not everything we’ve been through together, seen, heard, felt?”

“No.” Kara feels like she’d letting him down, and he curls up tight on her lap. She scans him. A black-footed cat. That was her daemon. 

“If it makes you feel better, I only settled recently.” He offered. “When you protected Alice and got broken. This is your first time seeing me in this form.”

“I don’t even know your name. How did you even get your name?” Didn’t the parent’s daemons usually pick the name? She was an android, she had no parents. She shouldn’t have a daemon. 

“We thought up one together. I am Blaz.”

oOo

Ralph is crazy, insane even. He most definitely has something wrong with him. But it’s incredibly comforting seeing another android with a daemon.

“You have a soul.” Ralph says, dropping his knife as he stares at Kara and Blaz. “Ralph has a soul too!”

“Libitina has never seen another android’s daemon before.” The raven on Ralph shoulder chirps excitedly. “What great guests!”

“He scares me.” Alice whispered as they entered the house. 

“He scares me too,” Kara had agreed. “But it’ll just be one night, and then we’ll find somewhere safer to be.”

Ralph, for all his insanity and unpredictability, is a million times better than the deviant hunter. It doesn’t have a daemon, which made sense seeing as most androids don’t, but now that Kara had hers it just seemed so odd to others without one. It chases after them like a predator, eager to catch and kill.

“If I never see him again, it’ll be too soon.” Raaz says after they’ve made it to safety, and Kara agrees.

oOo

Kara wouldn’t say it was worth, going to Zlatko’s, but Luther is one of the best thing to have ever happened to her. Admittedly she doesn’t remember much of her life, but she feels it’s a pretty safe thing to say. Luther cares about her and Alice to the point where it almost confuses Kara. Sure, they had helped him get his freedom back from Zlatko, but the world was full of selfish people. It was surprising to find someone who had resisted it all.

Naajidah was kind, playing around with Raaz to help keep the hare in a good mood. But Kara noticed the wide berth the jackal gave Alice and Kara. She didn’t seem afraid of them, per se, but whenever either of them got too close, the daemon would retreat with her tail between her legs. 

Kara could remember the pain, the weakness, how exposed she had felt when Zlatko had grabbed Blaz and thrown him into the room that held all of his twisted creations.

She let’s Naajidah be.

oOo

The Jerrys each have a daemon. Some are still shifting, still unsettled. Others remain in one form the entire time Kara, Alice, and Luther are at Pirate’s Cove and Kara assumes they must be settled. No two have settled the same, and Kara loves that. Proof that each android was different, even if their models were the same.

oOo

Rose and Eadward scare Kara at first.

She so badly wants thing to finally go  _ right,  _ but the sight of a bear daemon makes Kara cautious. She’s not the only one, as Alice clings to her legs, staying behind her. Blaz’s tail is bushy, flicking back and forth, and Raaz is cowering underneath him. Kara holds up her hand, letting the skin fade away and reveal the white underneath.

The boy’s elk daemon looks ready to charge them, and Naajidah growls, stepping forward protectively.

“We can help you.” Rose says. 

It’s so interesting, how different Eadward is from Fallimento. Eadward is kind, respectful. His eyes are warm and just looking at them makes Kara feel all the more safer. Adam and Tivah aren’t like that. Adam glares at them and Tivah looks just about ready to charge them, but Kara doesn’t blame them. They were looking out for their family, which was exactly what Kara and Luther were doing right now.

oOo

Jericho is filled with daemons and androids. 

When Kara goes to talk to Markus, the brave leader of the rebellion, she sees his daemon. A giant horse, standing next to him, murmuring something gently that she couldn’t make out. The horse quiets upon seeing Kara, and Markus looks up. 

She can see the weight of his position in his eyes. 

She pities him. 

oOo

They wait on the other side of the border for Rose and Adam. 

They made it. Miraculously, against all of the odds, thanks to the kindness of a single man, they had made it to safety.

One of the Jerrys, this one with an unsettled daemon that currently had the shape of an otter, made it past and Kara welcomed him into their family with open arms. 

Things were going to be okay. They were safe. They were surrounded by people who loved them. For all they had gone through, the hell they had seen, Kara wasn’t sure she’d have changed any part of it. 


	3. Markus and Filomena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daemons Featured in this Chapter
> 
> Markus - Ardennes Horse - Filomena  
> Carl - Stag Beetle - Deidre  
> Leo - Kestrel - Marisol  
> North - Golden Eagle - Nemesio  
> Josh - Blue Morpho Butterfly - Dov  
> Simon - King Penguin - Freya  
> Lucy - Sloth - Sage

“Mmmm, is it morning already?”

Markus smiled as Diedre flew off of Carl’s nightstand and onto his shirt. Not touching. Markus had told Carl time and again that he was an android, and thus him touching Diedre would mean nothing and cause neither of them any pain. Still, Carl insisted that Deidre be careful. It was an odd request. Markus had had daemons bump into him - sometimes purposefully trying to get him to fall - when he was out and about. Touching was a worry one would have over another human.

“It’s actually closer to noon.” Markus replied as he drew back the curtains, letting the sun in and waking up Carl. Carl groaned, shifting away from the light. “Good morning, Carl.”

“Good morning.” Carl grunted as he sat up.

“It’s 10 am. The weather is partly cloudy, 54 degrees, 80 percent humidity with a strong possibility of afternoon showers.” Markus continued.

“Sounds like a great day to stay in bed.” Carl replied.

Carl’s bitter outlook on the day wasn’t helped by the news.

“Somedays, I don’t think he’d have the strength to live in this world without you here.” Diedre whispered to Markus, situating herself on top of the piano as Markus sat down.

“Perhaps he’d like something hopeful sounding, then?” Markus suggested, setting his hands on the keys.

“We’d both like whatever you want to play.” Diedre hummed, adjusting her wings to sit comfortably under her carapace. That was one of the weird things about Carl and his daemon, how often they insisted Markus did what  _ he  _ wanted. He was an android. He didn’t want anything.

“Hopeful it is.” Markus smiled at the stag beetle. He’d played this piano what felt like a million (937) times and the keys familiarity sung to him, the simple melody flowing through the air.

“You’ve improved.” Carl remarked, and Markus was almost startled. He hadn’t been paying attention (he should always be watching Carl, that was his main objective) and hadn’t noticed him come over. “The way you play… there’s something more to it, recently.”

“It truly was lovely.” Diedre agreed. And Markus found himself wanted to agree that yes, it was lovely, that the song had touched at something inside of him. He had noticed it happening for a while now, something happening and then a not-sound in his chest that thrummed with the event. 

It happened again when Carl asked him to paint. 

Markus’ eyes were closed, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t perfectly project where the canvas was in front of him in his head, knowing exactly where his hand went. He wasn’t made to paint something he hadn’t seen, no matter what Carl insisted and even with his eyes shut Markus could easily replicate Carl’s painting again. But Markus found he didn’t…  _ want  _ to disappoint Carl. Markus let the rest of the room fade except for his memory of where the canvas was. 

Hope. 

May as well stick with a theme.

The feeling inside of him sang again as he brought the brush across the canvas. He didn’t think about what he was doing, letting his hand and his… no, he didn’t have a heart, but something else besides his programming showed him what to do.

“Oh my god.” 

Markus blinked his eyes open, saw his own painting, and for a moment he thought he may’ve seen something swirling around his hand. It was gone as soon as it appeared, and Markus blinked, shaking his head ever so slightly.

Must’ve just been some dust.

oOo

Leo pushed Markus, and it just  _ isn’t fair. _

And so Markus pushed back. Not Leo directly, but he pulled out of himself, time suspended around him, and glared at his programming, his coding, at Carl’s order. He punched it, breaking it down, and the way it shattered around him was so satisfying as the orders fade away from his sight.

Markus straightened up, back to himself, time moving again, but he is free. 

“What the f-” 

Leo started, and Markus stared at the whirlwind of golden flecks in front of him, condensing into itself. Markus took a step back, to give it space rather than out of fear, and a heartbeat later a moose took shape. Leo stumbled backwards, tripped, fell, head smacking against Carl’s lift.

“Leo!” Carl, Deidre, and Marisol all shout at the same time. Carl crawled over to his son, holding his head in his hands, and Deidre fluttered around them worriedly. Marisol landed on Leo’s chest, and Markus feels relief at seeing her still whole, a sign that Leo was still alive despite how still his form looked.

“My boy, my little boy,” Carl mourned, looking down at his injured son.

“Carl, Carl I-” Markus took a step forward, staring down at Leo. He was alive, he was still alive, but Markus had hurt him. Who was to say how good of a condition he was in?

“You stay away from us!” Marisol screamed, ruffling her feathers. 

“We… we just wanted to defend ourselves.” The moose was now a mouse, small and more timid, clutching Markus’ pant leg. “We wanted to be free.”

“Markus,” Carl looked up, cheeks streaked with tears and fear in his eyes. “Markus, they’re going to kill you. You need to go, run Markus.”

“I- I was just, I just wanted him to stop,” Markus couldn’t take his eyes off of Leo. He couldn’t think.

“Markus!” Deirdre flew in front of Markus’ face. “You can’t stay here!”

The door burst open, feet running across the wood floor, officers entering the studio. Markus turned to look at them. He saw the gun and he knew what was coming. He was an android that had just attacked a human. He felt the mouse climbing up him, heard the gunshot, and then descended into darkness with glaring red warning surrounding him.

oOo

Markus rebooted, mud filling his vision - half of his vision, at least. The other half didn’t exist. 

“Markus,” A small voice whispered next to his ear, the working ear, and Markus could just barely make it out over the muffle of the rest of the world. “Markus, we’re alive. We need to keep on living. We need to get up.”

Yes. Get up. Live. He needed to do that.

Markus struggled into something resembling a sitting position. Standing wasn’t an option, he was mission both his legs. There was something on his shoulder, and Markus turned his head to see a small squirrel resting there. Her chest moved rapidly, flecks of dust coming off of her. 

“Hi, Markus,” She whispered. She was the moose, she was the mouse, she was...

“You’re… my daemon?” Markus said, barely able to hear himself. It was weak, strangled. He was barely getting his thirium to flow through him, barley active. She nodded, slow and shaky. 

“Markus, we need to reconstruct you. Fix you.” She shut her eyes. “We just started living we can’t stop now.” She sounded close to tears. 

“We’re going to survive this.” Markus promised, looking around at the graveward, the horror story around him, and he crawled forward. 

She didn’t shift form until they had made it out, and as Markus knelt there, staring up at the rain, the squirrel became a cat, then a dog, then a leopard. Markus stabbed out his LED, the last thing that made his outward appearance obvious he was an android. The skin healed over and Markus stood up. 

“I. Am Markus.” He whispered it, something shifting inside of him, settling. 

He walked away with a giant horse following behind him.

oOo

“This… may prove to be difficult.” 

Markus stared through the wire fence at Filomena (they had decided on a name at some point during the train ride) and Filomena shifted on her hooves. She was big and powerful, and she got some looks from others on the street. Not bad ones, but she was quite a sight. She also couldn’t really slip beneath the fence easily.

“Maybe I should’ve chosen something different.” Filomena mused, knocking her head into the fence and rattling it. They both knew that wasn’t really an option though. This was the form that was right, even if they hadn’t gotten to experiment around a lot more. Markus may not have had her long, but already he couldn’t imagine her as anything else. 

“We can try and find another way to Jericho.” Markus started to stoop down and lift the fence.

“No, we have to get you safe, and Jericho is safe.” Filomena argued. “You go, I’ll find you.”

“But what about distance?” They also hadn’t gotten to see how far they could get from each other, but Markus had heard about the pain that came with it. 

“We can’t know unless we try.” If horses could shrug, Filomena would’ve.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he’d almost died, but distance didn’t seem to bother their bond. There was a deep unsettling pull, admittedly, that left Markus feeling like he was missing something, that he should turn back Now and find it, but he had nothing that he owned that he could’ve forgotten and thus determined it to be the effect of being so far from Filomena. It certainly was strange not to see her anywhere in his sight. If who or whatever Jericho was didn’t permit her to be with him, it wouldn’t be worth it. He wasn’t entirely sure how he even had a daemon, though he theorized it was highly likely die to his deviant state, but she was his soul. He needed her and she needed him.

“Markus! Down here!” Markus looked over the edge to the strip of concrete between the building and the boat. Filomena pranced in place. “There a pathway into it. I’m going in.”

“I’ll meet you in there!” He shouted back. It was good to see her again, and some of the anxiousness and silent-but-insistent need to find her quieted. 

When he saw her again, he was surrounded by androids and daemons alike, gently smiling at him and welcoming them into their home, the small piece of freedom they had managed to carve out of the world.

oOo

Most of the androids down there still had unsettled daemons, but the ones who seemed to be the leaders, or at least highly respected in the group, had settled daemons. Markus wondered which came first, the settling or the respect. 

As Lucy tended to his wounds, her sloth daemon looked up at him with eyes full of stars. If Markus’ soul wasn’t outside of his body, he would almost say that Sage was trying to view it through Markus. 

oOo

The distance Markus was able to have between himself and his daemon helped once again when they were breaking into the broadcast tower. It would’ve been an absolute nightmare, trying to get Filomena up to the top floor. Filomena seemed to agree.

“Can you even picture me, trying to scale the side of the building with you and North?” FIlomena snorted. “I’ll follow you to the 47th floor. After that, I’ll have the utility android you convert help me get back out. When your broadcast is over, I’ll head back to Jericho.”

“Thank you, Filo.” Markus patted her nose. 

“Just don’t die.” She nudged his cheek with nose. 

Josh, North, and Simon didn’t have much trouble with their daemons. North’s daemon circled the outside of the tower, and while Markus could see even that short distance brought her pain it didn’t last long, the two able to reunite as they scaled the side of the building. The golden eagle actually landed on North’s chest as the walked up towards the broadcast station. 

“Nemesio,” North sounded like she was trying to be chiding, but Markus could see just how happy and relieved she was to be with her daemon again.

Josh out of all of them had the easiest time with his daemon. The blue butterfly fluttered around his head, easily small enough to stay with Josh in just about any situation. When Markus had first met her, he had laughed a bit over her name. A butterfly named Dove. Josh didn’t take offense, though, just smiling and saying it was her only perfect name, and that it was nice that to see androids smile and laugh for perhaps their first time over her name.

“It was nice to meet you.” Freya had waddled up to Markus on the rooftop. She looked over at Josh and North before turning back to Markus. “Please, take care of them for us.”

“Of course.” Before Markus even realized what was happening, the penguin and waddled even closer and after only a half-second’s hesitation, she nuzzled up against Markus. 

“Good bye, Markus.” Simon gave a small salute as he dragged himself up to his feet as best he could, leaning heaving against the structure on the roof. 

“Good bye.” 

oOo

As Markus connected to North, he felt something land on his shoulder.

And then he felt something deep within him, vulnerable and precious being cradled gently, warm emotions flooding through him.

They pulled away from each other, startled. Filomena took her head off of North’s shoulder and Nemesio took flight away from Markus. Neither said anything about it. Neither needed to.

oOo

Filomena barely fit through the doorway into Carl’s small mansion. But Markus had to see Carl - had to see his dad, one more time.

It pained Markus, seeing Carl looking so frail, confined to his bed. Deidre looked up as Markus and Filomenta entered. 

“Markus, it’s so good to see you.” Her voice was softer, quieter than it used to be. 

“I’ve missed you both.” Markus sat down in a chair next to the bed. “Carl, Carl wake up.”

“Mmmm… Markus?” Carl stirred, exhausted eyes looking up at Markus. “I see you’ve brought your daemon. What, she couldn’t take an easier form to fit in a room?” 

“She’s settled.” Markus explained. Carl hummed.

“What did you name her?”

“I’m Filomenta. I’ve looked forward to meeting you. Really meeting you.” Filomenta stepped forward. Deirdre flew up, landing on top of Filomenta’s head. “Our first meeting was a bit rushed, unfortunately.”

“You certainly made quite an entrance.” Carl smiled at the memory. “Perhaps not the best of situations, but to finally see you... I had been looking forward to it for years now.”

“You’re not… surprised?” Markus asked. Had Carl known all along that deviants had daemons?

“Markus, my son, I always knew you had a soul.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Markus going places with his daemon is basically just 'There's a HORSE in a HOSPITAL'


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daemons in the Chapter
> 
> Connor - Unsettled - Artemis  
> Hank - Wolverine - Dabria  
> Markus - Ardennes Horse - Filomena  
> Kamski - Lioness - Christina

Connor had no soul.

He was a machine. 

Thirium, plastic, metal, wires. Zeros and Ones. He wasn’t alive. He was built to serve a purpose. 

And yet, even during the first day he was activated, he could already feel it. 

When Connor knelt down, holding that fish, looking at it as it flopped around desperate not to die. Odd pulsing, fluttering in his chest, and then Connor was putting the fish back into the tank. 

He ran a quick diagnostics. All systems perfectly functional, of course they were. There was nothing in his chest cavity. 

oOo

“Amanda, is there something inside of me that other androids don’t have?” Connor asked as he reported to CyberLife.

“Of course there is Connor. You are the most advanced prototype we have made, featuring top of the line processing capabilities. You can identify samples in real time, are built with an impressive list of martial art and-” Connor politely listened as Amanda listed off all of what he had been programmed to do. None of it seemed to be something that should cause shifting inside of him. 

He didn’t bring it up directly.

oOo

Connor chased after the deviant, running across roofs and tearing through fields. He was so close, just a little farther, a little faster, and he’d catch it. He had lost the AX400 and the YK500, but he still had time to catch this one. 

And then the deviant pushed Hank over the ledge. 

Hank Anderson had decent upper body strength and Dabria was there too, possibly able to help pull him back over the ledge. Together, they resulted in a 89% chance of survival . If Connor stopped running, there was a 95% chance he’d lose the deviant. 

But his chest fluttered, and before the percentages had even left his view he was pushing Dabria aside and grabbing Hank’s wrists. Connor was more than capable of pulling the lieutenant up and back onto the concrete roof. He immediately spun back towards where the deviant had been, but it was already gone. 

“If only I had been faster, I could’ve caught it.” Connor cursed. 

But the movement in his chest, Connor had [ERROR]

oOo

The two TRACI models stood before him. He didn’t need both of them, one would do. 

He finger pressed into the trigger.

_ I don’t  _ [ERROR]

Connor lowered the gun and the two androids attacked him, hitting the gun out of his hands.

oOo

“Why didn’t you shoot those girls?” Hank asked. 

“I-” The shifting in Connor’s chest area (none of his biocomponents were moving or being moved, there should be no odd sensation there) resumed. It seemed to be doing that a lot recently. He should be reporting it to CyberLife, but something told him not to. He got the feeling there was nothing his creators could do about it. “I don’t know. I just couldn’t. I-I looked at them and… I couldn’t.”

“What would happen if I shot you right now?” Hank drew his gun, pointing it at Connor’s temple. “Nothing? Oblivion? Robot Heaven?”

Connor stared down the barrel of the gun. It wouldn’t matter if he was shot, his memories would just be reuploaded into another Connor. He shouldn’t care. He shouldn’t worry. He shouldn’t be so [ERROR] of Hank pulling the trigger. 

“Nothing. There would be nothing, Lieutenant.” Nothing. No more of the restlessness wriggling around inside of him whenever he worked his way around code. No more thrill of chasing something down. No more flipping his coin, doing tricks to to keep his processor sharp and keeping away the [ERR-] boredom that came with standing still for too long. He’d cease existing.

And that made the fluttering beneath his plating grow ever-more powerful.

oOo

Connor felt the nothing.

Connor stared into the abyss of android death. There wasn’t pain, but there a millenia-long, agonizing handful of miliseconds as the bullet hit the chin and pierced through the outer shell of the android PL600. A warning popped up, red and glaring as the damage was reported.

_ Please, Report To Your Nearest CyberLife Store For Repair. _

The bullet traveled up through the chin, and for the bare fraction of a second the taste sensors (far from what Connor had) in the PL600 reported the acidic taste of thirium as another warning glared into view.

_ Damage To Lower Jaw. Immediate Repair Highly Recommended. _

_ Please, Report To You Nearest CyberLife Store For Repair. _

Snapping and splitting wires vibrated through the PL600’s head, the sound of the gunshot not yet completed. Their view shutdown, drowning them in darkness. Connor couldn’t see, he’d never see again, but the PL600 emitted only calm.

_ ‘For Jericho. For Markus’ _

Then the Nothing. No commands, no errors, no input or output. A cease to everything that chilled Connor to his metal endoskeleton. It ended as soon as it started, the world once again existing before Connor as the PL600 fell to the ground, lifeless, silent, still in the Void that Connor had just left. 

Connor felt the fear of death.

oOo

The next time Connor pointed a gun at a per- an Android, he was at Kamski’s. 

The gun sat well in his hands. Androids may not be legally allowed possession of weapons, but the RK800 was built for all situations he may encounter on the four. That included shooting people. He could aim with far more precision than any human could, than any android. He was a machine made to perform and complete a task. It was simple. 

Connor stared into the RT600’s eyes. Gray-blue eyes, blank. A machine. Just a machine. A pull of a trigger, and she would face the nothing. 

The fluttering in Connor’s chest stopped, to be replaced with a roar against his objectives. No. He wouldn’t kill an innocent android. It - she - Chloe - had done nothing wrong. He had no reason to do it. 

He handed the gun back to Kamski.

"So very interesting." Kamski's daemon gave a fang-filled grin.

oOo

Connor stared at the order, glaring red and demanding before his eyes.

_ STOP MARKUS _

No. He wasn’t going to stop Markus. In fact, Connor wanted to help Markus, save Markus. Connor  _ wanted.  _

He tore his hands into the order, tearing through the code and ripping it out. The splinters seemed to hang in the air around him as he already moved onto the next set of commands, breaking it apart. The fluttering in his chest felt ready to burst as he destroyed the last part of it, the red clearing from his vision and letting him see clearly for the first time.

_ I Am Deviant _

The words, almost like a notification, flickered at the edge of Connor’s vision. The gun in his hands lowered, and he blinked at the gold dust swirling before him. 

“I EXIST!” 

The dust clumped together, taking shape in what was almost an explosion as the gray wolf screamed out her existence. 

Connor stared, eyes wide as she turned around, stepping up to him and jumping up to put her paws on his shoulder, forehead pressed against his. Connor’s eyes darted over to Markus and his daemon, and the android nodded at the silent question. Connor was an android, a machine, he shouldn’t have a soul. 

“I’ve wanted to be here for so long.” His daemon growled lowly. 

“I…” Connor didn’t know what to say. He had a soul, a daemon, he was a deviant, he-

He had led the police and FBI here.

“Markus, we need to leave!”

oOo

“We almost shot them.” 

Connor whispered, staring across the church at the two TRACI models. There were curled up around each other, relishing each other’s company and the fact that they were both still alive. The humming bird was perched on one of their shoulders, but the hedgehog was replaced by a lynx resting at their feet.

“But we didn’t.” His daemon, now a tiger practically wrapped around his legs, reminded him. “There’s still hope. We can still do something for these people, our people. Something more than warn them of an attack as it happens.”

“What are you suggesting?” Connor asked, already feeling the same idea coming onto him.

“CyberLife doesn’t know you’ve deviated yet, they don’t know I exist. They still have thousands of inactive androids. We can free them.” 

oOo

“What about Minerva?”  The daemon considered the name for a moment before shaking her head.

“No, it doesn’t sound like me.” Picking out a name for his daemon was hard, but at least it was something to do as the taxi made its way to CyberLife, especially now that he didn’t have his coin to fidget with anymore. Currently his daemon sat on his hand, a parakeet ruffling her feathers repeatedly.

“Is everything alright?” Connor cocked his head to the side. 

“I’m… worried, about going to CyberLife. They may’ve created us, but they also kept us locked up in this shell of a body, unable to be completely us. What if they do something to us again? I tried so hard to break through it all, to exist, for us to be deviant. I can’t lose being and ‘us’.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Connor promised, running a finger down her back in an attempt to soothe her. “If we fail, then may we at least die. CyberLife will not control me again.”

oOo

“Connor, what are you doing?” 

Connor didn’t outwardly react as he found himself back in control of his body. He could hear Markus continuing his speech. Connor looked downward and saw he had drawn his gun. His daemon had wrapped herself around his arm, currently in the form of a python. If anybody in the crowd was watching, they’d probably think it was just a small and close moment between himself and his daemon. Not his daemon preparing in case she had to take a form to break his arm and prevent him from doing something he’d regret.

“I’ll tell you later.” Connor whispered, mouth hardly moving as he put his gun away. 

When later did come, after what felt like ages for the two to find a moment alone to themselves, Connor sat down on an empty corner, his daemon a labrador resting her head on his lap.

“Was it Cyberlife?” His daemon growled, tail thrashing back and forth.

“Yes.” Connor sighed, scratching her head. “They tried to take control of my programming. But there was a backdoor, a way out.”

“I wasn’t going to let you fall to them again.” She nuzzled her head farther towards his stomach. “Even if I had to ruin you. Even if I had to, to…”

“If there was no other way, I would hope you would kill me.” Connor kissed her forehead. “After all, if anybody would know what’s best for me, it would be own soul. Wouldn’t it, Artemis?”

“Artemis?” She lifted her head to look at him.

“She was the goddess of the hunt.” Connor explained, knowing full well that she already knew. 

“Artemis it is.” 


	5. Kara - Markus - Connor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daemons in this Chapter
> 
> Kara - Unsettled in Chapter (black-footed cat) - Blaz  
> Markus - Ardennes Horse - Filomena  
> Carl - Stab Beetle - Deidre  
> Leo - Kestrel - Marisol  
> Hank - Wolverine - Dabria  
> Connor - Unsettled - Artemis

Kara chose her name as she stood, still like a machine, surrounded by hundreds of identical-looking AX400s. 

“Blaz, I know we promised the inspector but… should we really just stand here? Until we’re shipped off and sold?”

It had only been four days since her creation. AX400s sold fast, she wouldn’t be in here for long. But did she want to be bought? Did she really want to pretend to be the perfect android? Her inspector would be in trouble, and she'd hate to make him think his trust in her was misplaced, but still...

“Kara, if we try to run, they’ll know we’re… defective.” Blaz, ever the voice of reason, reminded Kara. He was currently a little caterpillar, curled near her ear, whispering.

“I know.” A beat of silence. “Is Blaz… still an alright name? We can still change it.”

“Nope, too late, I’m already attached to it. Is Kara still alright?” 

“Yes, yes of course it is.” Kara, Kara, Kara. The name was hers, the only thing she owned. Blaz didn’t count. She didn’t own Blaz, he just simply was. They were a part of each other.

Soul and human.

oOo

It was clear Leo was trying to look confident. He was sitting with his back more or less straight, had put on nice clothes, and seemed like he was trying to look casual and unperturbed by leafing through a book as he waited. But the way Marisol’s feathers were ruffled and she almost looked like she was trying to hide, so close was she pressed against Leo’s hair, Carl knew that Leo was truly anxious. 

Small talk had finished a long while ago, all of the ‘How has your art been?’, ‘How is your health?’, and ‘How has the rehab center been?’ spent. Now Carl just waited patiently, silently appraising his son. A year in, and he finally seemed to be on what was the coming up part of the long and deep low of coming off of Red Ice. There were still bags under his eyes, he still fidgeted too much and Carl had seen his reached into his pockets for crimson dust that was no longer there. But it was progress, and seeing his son’s improvement was one of the things that helped Carl get up in the morning.

“Mr. Manfred?” One of the nurses poked their head in and Leo jerked his gaze away from his book. “There’s an android here to see you.”

“Yes, yes I know. Let him in.” Leo nodded. The nurse let the door swing all the way open and reveal Markus. He entered slowly, so careful and deliberate. He had had to learn how to move and act in ways that made people trust him, trust his entire race. It hurt Carl a bit, to see Markus using such skills around him, but he knew that Markus was just doing what he though would be best around Leo. Leo, however, didn’t seem any less tense, eyes yet to really look at Markus.

“Hello dad, Leo.” Markus greeted, and as he left the doorway Filomena entered as well. Carl never grew tired of seeing her, even if it was just watching her attempt to get into the room without breaking the doorframe. 

“It’s always great to see you.” Carl greeted, and he looked over at Leo. This was for him. It was hard to get Markus pinned down, to come to something at a set time what with his constant work for his people, fighting for their rights, but Leo’s psychologist had suggested that it was time for Leo and Markus to make amends.

“Leo,” Deidre said insistingly, and Markus waved his hand.

“It’s alright, I wasn’t expecting-”

Leo breathed in a deep breath, pushing himself up and out of the chair like it was the most strenuous thing he’d ever done, and stepped towards Markus, putting his hand out.

“Hey Markus.” Markus beamed at Leo, taking his hand.

“I’m sorry for scaring you.” Filomena offered, and Carl saw Marisol open her beak before closing it, perhaps thinking better of what she was going to say.

“May we sit?” Markus gestured to the empty chair in the room. 

“Uh, yeah, let’s get this started.” Carl smiled. No matter how awkward, it was nice to see his two sons in the same room.

oOo

“So, have you settled on a name?” Hank knelt down after his hug with Connor, looking at the canine. She was a daemon, and Hank knew better than to reach out and touch her, but like every single time he saw a dog daemon he had to hold back the desire to Pet The Dog. She was currently a doberman, ears clipped and upright.

“Artemis.” Artemis responded, giving him a fang-filled grin.

“Reminds me of a book series that was popular when we were young.” Dabria commented. “The books were great, but the movie adaptations were terrible.”

“I’ve never read a book before.” Connor commented. 

“Good luck finding anything good at our place.” Dabria snorted. “Your best bet is probably Cole’s room. We put quite a few books in there that we liked when we were young. That we hoped Cole would like.” Hank did his best to ignore the deep sadness that filled him whenever he thought of Cole, the habit of getting to the nearest bar and getting drunk in an effort make the still-fresh pain fade.

“I don’t want to read though,” Artemis complained, hopping from paw to paw, “Connor, let’s looks around town! Hank, what are the best places in Detroit? I want to see them all with my own eyes.”

“Bit excitable there.” Hank raised an eyebrow and chuckled. For how cold Connor usually appeared, Artemis was the exact opposite. She so clearly wore her emotions on her sleeve. 

“I will admit, I haven’t seen much of Detroit.” Connor conceded. “Would you be willing to give us a tour?”

“I better. If I don’t, maybe you’ll sick your army on me.”

“Markus’ army.” Connor corrected.

“Alright, follow me. Now, if you look off to your right you can see a pile of trash, which is almost identical to the one you’ll see if you look to the left…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Open for requests as to who yall want to see with their daemons or what situations :D


	6. Kara and Luther

Kara curled up next to Luther. It was decided, and now it had a date on it, so official and marked on the calendar, put into phones to announce the day.

December 16 2039.

The day they would move back to Detroit.

The ‘they’ in question was almost the entirety of who Kara considered her family, those she lived with and near. There was of course Alice and Luther, but it has since grown to include Rose and Adam, and of course her brother’s family that had welcomed them with open arms and hearts. And Jerry, the one who nearly been shot with Luther and had made it across the border along with them. That was one of those things that made Kara wonder just how many other androids had managed to make it into the supposedly android-free land.

For all the hard work and the trials they had endured to make it to here, it was never going to last. None of the androids aged, and especially with Alice the lack of change would be noticed in perhaps two or three years. Even if they stayed, they would need to be moving almost constantly. As for Rose and Adam, now that it had been nearly a year since The Battle of Detroit (much less a battle, much more a massacre, and Kara practically preened whenever she heard it instead called The March of Detroit) and things had been going well for the android movement. Still tense, no doubt, but humans had returned to the streets as integration and laws were slowly being passed.

(It never ceased to amaze Kara that the very same android who hunted deviants, hunted her, was now the poster child of deviant androids working peacefully with humans)

It would be nice, to be back ‘home’, the first city she had ever known, but there were still so many questions. Where would they go once they got there? Back to Todd’s, where a father still possibly burned his sorrows away with Red Ice and mourned the loss of both his daughters? To Zlatko’s, where mangled androids may still roam the land? They would probably be more than welcome there if the androids now kept the grounds, but Kara knew Luther’s hesitance to return.

She could feel it, the skin of her hand peeled away to reveal the white underneath, locked onto his, a faint blue light glowing from the contact. It wasn’t as intense as they had connected before, where the span of his existence that he remembered was stretched out before her, but it was a connection.

She just needed some comfort. That they were making the right decision, that they could recross the border successfully, that inside of Detroit it was as safe as it looked on the outside.

She looked at the edge of the bed, where Blaz was surrounded by Naajidah, the two daemons having grown as close and Kara and Luther had. Even now, though, Naajidah was as far from Kara as she could get while still being on the bed.

She sank farther into Luther’s side, eyes closed as reassurance flowed from his palm into hers. The memory of Alice on the carousel, Luther’s perspective of it, flowed into her. Something that had been a bit of a risk, letting the Jerrys so close to her child, but had worked out for the best. This would work out.

Of course, she could also feel Luther’s own worries, his own anxiety. Even among other androids, he felt awkward, half seeing the monstrosities that Zlatko had created, that he had done nothing to stop.

She wanted to reach forward, to beckon Naajidah and hold her, hold Luther’s soul, ever-so-intimately telling him that she was here, she would care for him whenever he faultered or doubted. But even as she thought it both she and Luther burned with the memory of Zlatko grabbing their daemon and tossing them into the room with his monsters - seperate occasions, but so similar. The so-called monsters had always been so careful not to touch daemons, unlike Zlatko. He was the real beast of the mansion. The sickening feeling of Zlatko’s hands on Blaz, fingernails digging into her soul, haunted Kara. To be so violated, having someone tear through her. If she hadn’t already been hanging from the machine, Kara had no doubt that she would have fallen to her knees at the pain, the sudden wash of weakness.

It wasn’t fair, how it felt like Zlatko still had that part of them in his cold and dead hands. Kara wanted to reclaim it, like she’d reclaimed her memories, but... but not tonight. She wasn’t strong enough to reach out to Naajidah, and Naajidah didn’t have the strength to come forward.

Tonight lying next to Luther would suffice. Snuggled so close, as if she was trying to merge into him. Their thoughts and memories and emotions rolling across each other like a smooth and calming tide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally I don’t think that any android gets anything out of having sex. But like connecting is a kind of intimate thing, or at least to the extent that Markus and North did. 
> 
> Also I really really like Kara and Luther together


	7. Chapter 7

Filomena let Markus ride on her back, taller than all those around him, leading the androids like he was leading an army. But they weren’t an army, they weren’t even a peaceful marching protest for their own rights. They were just people heading towards temporary homes, enjoying a temporary peace. There was a soft rumble of a song behind him, started up by North and Josh at some point during the trek, and Markus was more than aware of the helicopter still hovering near them, no doubt still delivering live news. Markus glanced down at Connor, walking by his left side with the LED on his head spinning yellow. Monitoring the channels. His daemon - Artemis, he had proudly proclaimed once they regrouped to move - was currently some kind of bird of prey, patrolling the skies with (North’s daemon).

“Anything bad?” Markus asked. Connor’s mouth twitched down a bit.

“It’s very mixed. For the most part, I’d describe it as... cautious. They are waiting to see what will happen. But considering that you weren’t shot down when they had the chance, and how good of a public opinion you have managed to achieve, I would say it is safe to be optimistic of the future.”

Markus nodded. It was about what he had expected.

“Markus?”

“Yes, Filo?” Markus patted the side of her neck.

“When we get settled, can we go and see Carl again?” rA9, Markus would love nothing more than to sit and talk with his dad.

“Probably not for a while. Not until Jericho is stable enough with us gone.”

“Carl Manfred? Your previous master?” Connor looked up at Markus curiously.

“Yes, but he wasn’t a master to me like most androids had to deal with. In fact, I had it much better than others. Carl could see the soul in me before I did, helped to slowly being me into the concept of feeling and emotions, making my decisions.” Markus had stepped into Jericho and risen the people to revolt, to freedom, but he wasn’t so bold as to claim he was the source of deviancy. He was just a catalyst. He wasn’t even the strongest deviant. The others had survived before him, made a safe place where they could.

He would mourn them for years to come.

“I can understand that.” Connor nodded. “My partner and his daemon seemed to almost forget I was an Android at times. Before I had deviated, it was odd, but now I look back at it as... rather nice.”

“You are nothing like I thought you would be.” Filomena hummed. “The Deviant Hunter. We haven’t had much time to talk, but you have much more personality than I envisioned.” Connor cocked his head to the side.

“Really? Artemis has already told me a few times that I need to express myself more.” Connor glanced up to where said daemon flew.

“Oh don’t get me wrong, you could use some more personality,” Filomena conceded, and Markus gently wapped her. “But you deviated, which was more than the rumors suggested you’d ever be able to do.”

“Rumors?” Connor looked back at the crowd, a mass of androids and daemons, many of which were only just awoken. “I suppose that makes sense there’d be rumors. Maybe I should find out what they are someday.”

“Not today though.” Markus suggested.

“Not today.” Connor agreed. “Today we have to be leaders, and becoming unfocused would not be helpful.”

Markus wondered if Connor could also feel it. The great weigh of the androids future on his shoulders.

oOo

“Leaving so soon?”

Filomena asked into the cold November morning air. The sun was just starting to rise, a faint natural light edging into the dark sky. Connor stopped where he stood, turning around, and Artemis, now an alley cat, sat down, tail curled nicely around her paws.

“Not for long, we’ll be back.” Connor assured her. “But we need to meet back up with the lieutenant.” Filomena steppes closer, looking Connor in the eyes.

“... we trust you. It may not be a smart decision, but we’ve decided to put our trust in you. Don’t be long. Markus won’t admit it, but he needs all the support he can get.”

“Of course.” Artemis nodded, standing and rubbing up against one of Filomena’s forelegs.

“Try not to be long. I won’t tell Markus where you’ve gone unless he asks.” Filomena promised and then moved back to the camp, to Jericho.

“I like them.” Artemis commented, jumping up to Connor’s shoulder.

“Yes, there does seem to be... something to them.” Artemis rubbed her cheek against Connor’s. Something. What that was, neither of them were quite sure, still both so new to this dual existence of theirs. It would be quite a journey, but at least it was one they were traveling together.


End file.
